Cousins knows what it’ll take to change narrative about him: Winning

© Renée Jones Schneider/Star Tribune/TNS Cousins was voted one of the Vikings’ four offensive captains. The Vikings had just hired Kevin O'Connell — the coach for whom Kirk Cousins had signed a jersey five years ago saying, "I hope our paths cross again" — and O'Connell had put his defense in the hands of Ed Donatell, the still-excitable 65-year-old coordinator whose schemes Cousins had regarded as some of the NFL's toughest to solve. The quarterback placed a congratulatory phone call to Donatell. Pleasantries gave way to lively football conversation, and Cousins hung up the phone energized. He promptly made another call, checking himself against Harrison Smith, the Vikings safety not known for wide-eyed enthusiasm. "I said, 'I just got off the phone with Ed Donatell. Am I crazy, or is he the man? That was an awesome conversation — have you talked to him yet?'" "He said, 'Yeah, I have talked to him, and I kind of agree. I had a great conversation with him, too.' So right away, I was pretty excited about some of those people I was meeting over the phone. You're like, 'This could be a fun staff these guys put together.'" © Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune/Star Tribune/TNS Kirk Cousins and new Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell made an impression on each other when both were with Washington in 2017, which both hope translates to success on the field for the Vikings. The new staff arrives for Cousins' fifth season as the starter, with plans to empower him perhaps more than ever in Minnesota. He's reunited with O'Connell after they made an impression on each another with Washington in 2017. The team made another commitment to Cousins this offseason, with an extension that puts him in position to direct a loaded Vikings offense and climb the franchise record book in the process. Does Cousins feel like, after a decade with two teams, three head coaches, seven different offensive coordinators and countless hours in the hypercritical spotlight of the NFL commentary machine, that it's all working out for him? He sighs, pauses and delivers a monologue that ends with him riffing on Vince Lombardi. "The point I'll make is — and I can't say this enough — winning trumps everything," he said. "It doesn't matter how much you enjoy having phone conversations with the d-coordinator. If you're losing, those aren't fun conversations. Winning sets the tone for everything. "It's been funny, because I've observed some teams that have gone on great success for a stint, and I knew, knowing the coaches and the players, there was dysfunction. But because there was winning, it really didn't matter. So whether it works out, if you will, will all come down to, 'Did we win? Did we play well as an offense?' That really becomes the bottom line, and the only line." Cousins will tie Daunte Culpepper for the third-most starts in franchise history if he plays all 17 regular-season games this year. His passer rating (103.5) is the highest in franchise history; and he needs 12 TD passes to overtake Culpepper for third place in that category among Vikings quarterbacks, and 36 to pass Tommy Kramer for second place. But Cousins, who turned 34 last month, is also a passer whose stated goal of retiring in Minnesota remains uncertain. His contract extension only runs through 2023, with void years for 2024 and 2025. He wishes, he says, that Minnesotans could get to know him better. Perhaps that would help develop a more nuanced portrait of the quarterback than the one that often exists online. He also knows that's unlikely, when much of his communication to the fan base is through news conferences and social media posts that must be carefully calibrated before they are inevitably aggregated, atomized and analyzed, either for deeper meaning or for talking points. Appreciate him for his 3.44 touchdown-to-interception ratio in Minnesota (fifth-best in the NFL the past four years), or gripe he's being too careful with the football. Laud him for generous acts like his $500,000 gift to the Vikings' social justice fund last year, or grumble his $32 million average annual salary (ninth-highest in the NFL) is too much. Cite his oft-discussed record in prime time (2-9 on Monday nights, 10-17 overall) as evidence he can't deliver with all eyes on him, or his late-game performances last year (four game-winning drives, three fourth-quarter comebacks and a 94.1 passer rating when trailing by a touchdown or less in the final two minutes) to support the claim he's up to the task in the big moments. Now in the 11th year of a career that has lasted longer than he could have dreamed, th